Pittsburgh-Oregon State: Mitch Picks the Sun Bowl (Dec. 31)

The Sun Bowl   Sun Bowl Stadium   El Paso, TX

Pittsburgh (9-3) vs. Oregon State (8-4)

Dec. 31, 2008    2 EST   The Line: Oregon State - 2 1/2

Overview:

While the bowl names have changed over the years and corporate sponsorships have come and gone, the Sun Bowl still remains.

It makes sense to me that the Sun Bowl is the second longest running bowl game, as I remember it just as it as today from back when I was just growing up.

There weren't as many bowl games, and there was no such thing as cable TV. This game is tradition and it remains on network TV.

This is an interesting match up that although it has lost some of its luster with Oregon State's Jaquizz Rodgers being out, Oregon State still has plenty of fire power.

Oregon State is a good football team that started the season horribly and has played as one of the best for the last half of their games.

Aside from the marquis victory over USC, Oregon State came just one win shy of winning the Pac-10 title and going to the Rose Bowl.

For Pittsburgh, they rebounded from an opening loss to Bowling Green to go on a run that put them in BCS contention as well, but they came up short at Cincinnati.

Their gutsy win in the Backyard Brawl against West Virginia was that of a maturing program.  Pittsburgh, of course, also features one of the best running backs in the country in LeSean McCoy.

See Mitch's Sun Bowl pick against the spread